Rabbi Schneider — Direct Access
God bless you and Shalom, beloved ones. My name's Rabbi Schneider, welcome to this very special edition of Discovering the Jewish Jesus, where we're in the midst of a series called The Holy Land. I'm gonna bring you now to three very powerful places in the land of Israel.
We're gonna go to the Western Wall. We're gonna go the Garden Tomb. And we're gonna go to the Garden of Gethsemane. As a Jewish person myself, it's always such a blessing to be at the Western Wall because the culture of the Jewish people is so strong at the Western Wall, we see the Orthodox Jewish people coming to the wall every day to pray.
The Western Wall is the retaining wall that held up the second temple that was upon the earth when Jesus was ministering. And Jewish people today feel so connected to that particular spot because it's the closest they can get to where the temple once stood. I think you'll feel some of what I felt as you see me there today ministering at the Western Wall. I love you. God bless you and thank you for joining me today on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.
I'm standing in Jerusalem outside the Western Wall. This is the retaining wall of the ancient temple that was destroyed in 70 A.D. It's amazing to me that in Matthew, chapter 24, Yeshua's disciples were marveling at the temple structure.
And Jesus pointed to the temple that once stood right behind me and he said to his disciples, truly I say to you, not one stone of it's gonna be left standing upon another. And just as Jesus said, in 70 A.D. just a few years after Jesus died, the Romans came in and destroyed the temple. All that's left is this retaining wall here.
In back of this retaining wall sits the Dome of the Rock, the Muslim shrine. Beloved ones, prophecy is being fulfilled just like Jesus said. Thank God it's not the end of the story. Jesus is coming back again, and when he does, beloved, a third temple's going to be re-built.
The Book of Ezekiel tells us about it. Let's go inside now and take a closer look at this Western retaining wall. So here we are. You can see these little papers right here.
This is where Jews from all over the world come and stick their prayers. They believe that by sticking their prayers on the wall that somehow there's an extra connection to God because this is the most sacred place of real estate on the universe to them; very sacred spot, the most sacred spot for any Jew.
And we believe, beloved, in traditional Judaism that right behind this wall is where the third temple is gonna be built. Behind me you can see the Orthodox Jewish men praying. People come from all over the world to pray here. I'm right outside the Western Wall in an area where you can see is very sacred as religious Jewish peoples and some less religious praying, seeking to connect with God.
Of course Jesus came and said I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man cometh to God but through me. Beloved ones, I'm so glad that the King of kings lives inside me. And because of that there's a river of life flowing out of me that I have direct access to the Father, to the Ruach HaKodesh, through the Spirit of God that's been given to me because of I've received Jesus Christ the righteous.
So beloved ones, we've just seen the most beautiful spot on planet earth in the center of Jerusalem at the Temple Mount. But interestingly enough, Jesus gave us another paradigm to look through as well.